Vamana Purana — Nara-Narayana's Tapas, Shloka 58

Nara-Narayana’s Tapas, Indra’s Temptation, and the Burning of Kama: The Origin of Ananga and the Shiva-Linga Episode

Devanagari script

ततो दारुवनं घोरं मदनाभिसृतो हरः विवेश ऋषयो यत्र सपत्नीका व्यवस्थिताः

Transliteration

tato dāruvanaṃ ghoraṃ madanābhisṛto haraḥ viveśa ṛṣayo yatra sapatnīkā vyavasthitāḥ

Translation

Daraufhin betrat Hara (Śiva), vom Einfluss des Kāma – der betörenden Begierde – ergriffen, den schaurigen Dāruvana-Wald, wo die Weisen zusammen mit ihren Gattinnen verweilten.

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: क्रियाविशेषण
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रमवाचक-अव्यय (then)

• दारुवनम्: the forest of trees (Dāruvana)
• दारुवनम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दारु + वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (determinative): दारूणां वनम्; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• घोरम्: terrible
• घोरम्: कर्म-विशेषण
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (of दारुवनम्)

• मदनाभिसृतः: approached/urged by Madana
• मदनाभिसृतः: कर्तृ-विशेषण (of हरः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मदन + अभि-सृ (धातु)
• Form: तत्पुरुष/कृदन्त: मदनेन अभिसृतः (approached/impelled by Madana); भूतकृदन्त (PPP); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• हरः: Hara (Śiva)
• हरः: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• विवेश: entered
• विवेश: क्रिया (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-विश् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ऋषयः: sages
• ऋषयः: कर्ता (Subject of subordinate clause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: अधिकरण (relative location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्धबोधक-अव्यय (relative adverb: where)

• सपत्नीका: together with (their) wives
• सपत्नीका: कर्तृ-विशेषण
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स + पत्नीका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव: सपत्नीकाः = पत्नीभिः सह; पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण (of ऋषयः)

• व्यवस्थिताः: were stationed / were present
• व्यवस्थिताः: क्रिया-सम्बन्ध (predicate of ऋषयः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-अव-स्था (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (PPP); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

Speakers

• Narrative voice (frame dialogue not specified in provided excerpt; commonly Pulastya → Nārada in the Vāmana Purāṇa)

Primary Deities

• Shiva

Key Themes

• Shaivism
• Asceticism vs. ritual pride
• Temptation (Kāma) and testing of dharma
• Sectarian Harmony (implicit, as Vāmana Purāṇa often integrates Hari-Hara theology)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "shringara", "secondaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The scene sets up a dharma-test: outward ascetic identity and ritual status can be challenged by inner impulses (kāma) and by divine intervention. The sages’ household setting (with wives present) foregrounds the tension between renunciation, social order, and inner restraint.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana?

This belongs chiefly to Vamśānucarita/Carita-style narration (exemplary divine episode) rather than sarga/pratisarga. It functions as an instructive myth illustrating dharma and the power of the deity.

What is the symbolic significance?

Dāruvana commonly symbolizes a closed ritual world (forest-hermitage society) that is disrupted so that deeper knowledge arises. ‘Hara approached by Madana’ signals a deliberate narrative device: the deity’s seeming entanglement becomes the means to expose hypocrisy, reframe desire, and restore right understanding.